Young woman ‘infatuated’ with Columbine found dead

A young Florida woman who travelled to Colorado and bought a shotgun for what authorities feared would be a Columbine-inspired attack just days ahead of the 20th anniversary was found dead Wednesday in an apparent suicide after a nearly 24-hour manhunt.

Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Shrader said 18-year-old Sol Pais was discovered by the FBI with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The manhunt had led to the closing of Denver-area schools as a precaution.

We can confirm that Sol Pais is deceased. We are grateful to everyone who submitted tips and to all our law enforcement partners for their efforts in keeping our community safe.

During the manhunt, the FBI said Pais was “infatuated” with Columbine and threatened violence ahead of Saturday’s anniversary of the attack that killed 13 people at Columbine High School in 1999.

The FBI described her “extremely dangerous”.

The Miami Beach high school student flew to Colorado on Monday night and bought a pump-action shotgun and ammunition, authorities said.

Agents had focused the search around the base of Mount Evans, a popular recreational area about 60 miles southwest of Denver.

All classes and extracurricular activities for about half a million students were cancelled as a precaution, though sheriff’s spokesman Mike Taplin said the young woman’s threats were general and not specific to any school.

“This has become a massive manhunt and every law enforcement agency is participating and helping in this effort,” said Dean Phillips, agent in charge of the FBI in Denver.

Authorities said Pais was last seen not far from Columbine, in the Jefferson County foothills outside Denver, in a black T-shirt, camouflage trousers and black boots.